SOH1: No-till farming
What you must do to get paid for this action and advice on how to do it.
This is an action in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme: expanded offer for 2024. You must read the SFI scheme information to understand the scheme rules and how to apply.
Duration
3 years
How much you’ll be paid
£73 per hectare (ha) per year
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that no-tillage (‘no-till’) farming techniques are used, so soil disturbance is minimised.
The purpose of this is to:
- improve soil health, fertility, structure, soil water storage and reduce soil runoff
- help to keep organic matter and nutrients in the soil
- provide benefits for carbon, water quality and biodiversity
- help protect historic environment features
Where you can do this action
You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s:
- an eligible land type (read section 5.1 ‘Eligible land types for SFI’)
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
You cannot do this action on land where you’re tilling narrow strips of soil to plant crops, leaving the areas between the rows untilled. This is known as ‘strip tillage’.
Eligible land
| Eligible land type | Eligible land cover | Compatible land use code |
|---|---|---|
| Arable land used to grow crops | Arable land | Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops |
| Temporary grassland (only if it’s part of the crop rotation and present for no more than 2 years of this action’s duration) | Arable land | TG01 |
| Arable land lying fallow (only if it’s part of the crop rotation and present for no more than 2 years of this action’s duration) | Arable land | FA01 |
Eligibility of protected land
| Protected land | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) | Eligible – you must get SSSI consent before you do this action (read section 5.5 ‘Land that’s a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)’) |
| Historic and archaeological features | Eligible – you must get a HEFER before you do this action (read section 5.6 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’) |
Available area you can enter into this action
Total available area in a land parcel.
Rotational or static action
This action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.
What to do
You must establish crops on land entered into this action using a ‘no-till’ direct drill or broadcasting equipment.
For the purposes of this action:
-
crops include ‘cash crops’, cover crops and temporary grassland (a ‘cash crop’ means a crop grown to be harvested for commercial use)
-
direct drills include tine drills, disc drills and precision seed drills
-
broadcasting equipment must have rearward facing tine harrows, for example, grass overseeders
You must not use conventional or shallow min-till cultivation machinery (except for a stubble rake or straw harrow with rearward facing tines):
- to prepare the land for sowing crops
- between harvesting (or destroying cover crops) and sowing crops
Where necessary, you can carry out low disturbance subsoiling to reduce soil compaction during the crop rotation. For example, if there’s bad weather when you harvest the crop. You must keep evidence if you do this.
Read section 13.2: ‘What you must do if you cannot comply with your agreement’.
When to do it
You must do this action:
- from its start date, unless you have a crop in place when this action starts which does not meet this action’s requirements
- throughout each year of this action’s duration
If there’s a crop in place when this action starts which does not meet this action’s requirements, you must do this action:
- as soon as possible after the crop is harvested or destroyed
- within 12 months of this action’s start date
How to do it
It’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you:
- follow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’
- do the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim
Advice to help you do this action will be published before applications are fully launched from summer 2024. It will not be part of this action’s requirements.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:
- field operations at a land parcel level (including if you’ve had to carry out low-disturbance subsoiling to reduce compaction) and associated invoices
- photographs and other documentation
If it’s not clear that you’ve done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, we may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if we ask for it.
Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action
You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action. Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action. For example, winter cover followed by a summer companion crop. Read ‘What to do’ and ‘When to do it’ to find out when this action must be done.
| Scheme | Action or option codes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| SFI 2024 actions | AHW5, AHW6, AHW7, AHW8, AHW9, AHW10, AHW11, OFA1, OFA6, OFC3, OFM4, SOH4, AGF1, AGF2, PRF1, PRF2, PRF3, PRF4, SOH2, SOH3, CAHL2, CIPM1, CIPM3, CIPM4, CNUM1, CSAM1, CSAM2 | ||
| SFI 2023 actions | AHL2, IPM1, IPM3, IPM4, NUM1, SAM1, SAM2 | ||
| CS options | AB1, AB2, AB5, AB6, AB7, AB9, AB10, AB11, AB13, AB14, AB15, GS3, SW5, SW6, OP1, OP2, OP5, OR3, OR4, OT3, OT4 | ||
| ES options | No ES revenue options | ||
| SFI pilot standards | SFI pilot arable and horticultural soils standard – introductory level |
If an action or option cannot be located on the same area, you may be able to do it on a different area in the same land parcel. See section 6. ‘Eligible land in other funding schemes’.
You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:
- SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2 and WBD2
- SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
- CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)
- the introductory level of the SFI pilot hedgerows standard